Jack Update 7/30

By Kevin

On our way to Las Vegas for much needed R&R, I had a call from a nurse who needed to reach cousin David to have him sign papers for Jack. Jack’s phone was missing since Jack and Shirley are moving, so my phone number might have been found on Shirley’s phone or the note I had left at my Dad's that Jack kept.

Found out later from David, who is in Texas for work, that Jack fell and broke 2 ribs. Jack was confused and couldn't admit himself to the hospital in Las Vegas (20 minutes from where Margaret, Katie, and I are staying). David gave permission for Shirley to sign the papers only for that. Jack is being given hospice care which his insurance covers. Jack was given pain medication, and when asked what year it was said 2028. The nurse later said Jack was doing better, so David decided to fly to Vegas on Friday to see how his dad is doing and what else can be done. Jack had planned to have an operation for his brain tumor, but that doesn't seem possible now.

He is at Mountains Edge Hospital 8656 West Patrick Lane, Las Vegas, room 205. #702 671 1111, but he might not be taking calls.

7/29 update

Called dad around 1:00 Sunday. He sounded like he just got up. I asked him if I could come over that afternoon. Got there around 5:00. He was in good spirits and both hearing aids are working - yay. He had bandages on his right hand and left forearm and his right hand is swollen.

After some stories about Paris (I didn’t realize he saw so much there after the war...) we went through Kevin’s list.
- his phone was on the table charging
- he knew about his Dr. appt in Monday but only mentioned having his stitches out
- I asked him to ask the Dr. about a walker and the visiting caregiver - we think he needs a prescription/sign off for both. He seemed excited about the walker mentioning how Jack and his coffee buddy use them.  He also liked the idea of the home care. He planned to use gogograndparent to get there and back and was confident that he could do it.
- I asked about his pills and he said he is taking them and the pill by date box helps. I meant to check the box when I used the bathroom, but didn't...
- We then tore apart the coffee maker to fix it. It was full of hardened grounds and oily residue.  He used his left hand in this process and handled things pretty well. I think it should work well now, but we had it running through a de-calcium process which seemed to take forever. It was still going when I left. I'll ask him how it worked when I call him tonight.
- He said he didn't have any laundry and both the washer and dryer were empty
- I checked his freezer and fridge - it was pretty full - more than mine.  I was going to drop by Safeway on the way back from dinner to have him get some things, but he seemed okay.

He picked a dinner spot (Applebee's - which wouldn't have been my first choice - or any choice for that matter).  I decided to take the explorer rather than his prius to see how well he could handle getting in and out of a car on the steep street. He did good. He even navigated the parking lot at Applebee's and the 3 steps to our table just fine. He ordered finger food and tried eating the "all you could eat" chicken strips with a fork in his left hand which was too much trouble. I told him he could use his fingers. He snatched up the bill before I could even reach for it.

Back at the house, I saw the broken coffee mug on the storage bin out front and noticed the blood spots on the landing. He explained how it happened and that he doesn't want to put in a ramp. I noticed the line of potted plants there and he said Kevin did that in a way that makes me think he may move them...

He thanked me for coming over and I reminded him of his appointment said I'd call him Monday.

PS: Just sent him a text to remind him of his Dr. appt.

Howard Update 7/28

Katie and I (Kevin) had a good visit with my Dad on Saturday.

We had hoped to meet Pat at Dad's for dinner, but I had a long talk with Pat in the morning after a long flight back from vacation, and he plans to see Dad on Sunday.

We delivered some orange juice that Margaret got for him, and more bandages if he needs them.

We used GoGoGrandparent to go to dinner at Fatapple's in El Cerrito. Dad is still getting familiar with the phone and using GoGoGrandparent, but we expect with more practice he will use it for things like hospital appointments and dinner out. We had a good dinner, and Katie now has a new favorite place for burgers near Dad's (the old place was Mel's Diner in San Pablo). Dad had a little trouble eating his trout with one hand, and his left one at that, but he did well.

I had hoped that the Bay Alarm Medical alert system would arrive since UPS listed it for Saturday delivery, but it should arrive Monday, and Pat will set it up. It has a wrist band with a button to call for help, and a pendant to detect falls.

Dad has an appointment on Monday with his doctor, and I wrote it on Dad's calendar. I will send an email to his doctor asking him to:

- remove the stitches from Dad's right hand and left arm (the doctor knows about this)

- examine both wounds

- talk with Dad about last Saturday's fall, and do any tests he can, including checking for a stroke since his coffee friends said one time a few weeks ago he was speaking and they couldn't understand what he was saying

- give Dad a prescription for a walker (he can get one from the same hospital as his doctor)

- make what arrangements he can for Dad to have home health care

Pat and Karen are going to look into home health care and transportation options in addition to or instead of GoGoGrandparent.

He hadn't taken his Saturday morning medications, so I gave them to him.

Margaret and I are glad that Pat and Karen will be available to help Dad so we can enjoy our vacation.

Howard Update 7/27

Kevin spent Thursday evening and all day Friday with Howard.    

Kevin went up to El Cerrito after work on Thursday and took Howard out to dinner and grocery shopping.   They were unable to use Gogograndparent as the phone needed to be charged.    Howard had not had coffee with his friends as there was a miscommunication about logistics.

He is mobile but unsteady.   He had changed his clothes in the morning on Thursday.  Kevin changed his bandages on his sutures.

Howard had a rescheduled coffee with his friends on Friday morning.  His friend (Barbara's old schoolmate) and wife came and picked up Howard.  His friend reported after coffee that Howard should be using a walker.

Kevin made an appointment for Monday for Howard to see his regular doctor.  On Friday, using Gogograndparent (one round trip),  Kevin took Howard to Kaiser for bloodwork (which he had missed because he was with us in Milpitas and we were unaware he does frequent bloodwork).   They were unable to have the stitches removed as the nurse saw a note in the file that the doctor wanted to do that himself on the Monday appointment.

Kevin now has proxy access to Howard's online medical account with Kaiser, and will been sending messages to the doctor.  Howard will need a doctor's referral to get a walker, in home care, etc.   

He has a cane and is using it sparingly, and we encourage more.  We will get the doctor referral for a walker.

The medical alert is due to arrive at Howard's house on Saturday.   Pat will be setting it up for Howard.

Kevin cleaned out his refrigerator and also blocked the area in the front patio where Howard has tripped and had two falls.   

Kevin will be going up on Saturday to meet with Pat and visit Howard.  Kevin has both the keys to Howard's car and and will give one to Pat.  

Howard update 7/25

Howard is doing good today.   He got up around 10:30am, and is in good spirits. 

Katie and I will be taking him back to El Cerrito this afternoon.  We presented this trip to our house as a couple of days vacation away from his house, and also so he could see what we are trying to put in place for him. 

He has enjoyed sitting out in our backyard, and went straight out there after getting up.   I took him out some coffee, cereal and grapes.   He is getting much better at eating left handed!  :)  He is speaking clearly.

He is still in the same shirt he was in yesterday, and same pants as for many days.   I have been trying, with no luck, to get him to take a shower, and he said he would take one when he gets home.  I will probably hang around his house until that is done! 

Kevin has ordered a medical alert for Howard, and it should arrive at Howard's house on Friday.  Pat gets back in to town on Friday and can get it set up for him.    The medical alert does have fall detection.

Howard is supposed to be picked up by his coffee buddies tomorrow for his usual Thursday coffee-out-with-the-boys.   Kevin will be going over there after work tomorrow to check in with him, and also to take him in to Kaiser on Friday for a follow up on everything. 

*** Major kudos to Kevin for stepping up more than admirably.  ***

Kevin, Katie and I will be out of town all of next week, and hope to have Howard visiting back at our house on the week of August 6.

 M.

Howard update 7/24

Morning update:

Howard got up around 11:15 this morning.   He is in good spirits, had changed his shirt, and got himself a cup of coffee and a banana.   At the moment he is sitting out in the backyard with Buster.  Katie and I were out when he got up, but arrived when he was sitting at the kitchen table with his coffee and banana.

I am encouraged as he is conversing normally again.  We had a few days where he didn't say much, and was just "yes" or "no".   I am sure this has been hard for him to process all that is going on with him. 

We were unable to get him a shower or sponge bath yesterday.   That is one of my goals for today (yes, I live the exciting life!).

I will also be researching Kaiser home care today to see what that offers.

Howard update 7/23

Margaret's update, Monday 7/23

Howard came down to our house with Kevin yesterday, Saturday.   We have the downstairs bedroom and bathroom set up for him.

Howard will be with us through Wednesday afternoon, when Katie and I will take him back to El Cerrito.  His coffee buddies will be picking him up on Thursday for his usual coffee out. 

His hearing aids are cleaned and repaired, so he is hearing well when he has them on.

He is getting around only okay. 

He has difficulty getting up out of chairs, etc., and needs to sit in stiff backed armed chairs.    He has edema in his feet and his feet are swollen.  He wears only his slippers and black sneakers unlaced.   He is unable to put on his socks.

He has stitches in his right palm and the hand is bandage wrapped.  So he is using a fork with his left hand which he is not used to.   And, his left forearm has the stitches from when he fell.  As a result, he cannot use a knife, trouble lifting cups and glasses.   Luckily we have lots of straws here. :)

We have the suspicion that he might have had a minor stroke.  A few days ago he was confused and unintelligible.   He seems better from that, but is still struggling.   He wears the same clothes every day and does not want to change out of them.  He had a bathroom accident on Saturday, so at least Kevin got to wash his clothes for him.   We're pretty sure he hasn't bathed in a couple of weeks, so we are going to get him at least a sponge bath today.

We will post updates at least daily, and also let Pat and Karen be authors on this blog as well.

M.

Howard update 7/21

Kevin's email from Saturday, July 21

Dad fell Saturday about 5pm while in his bathroom and cut his left arm severely in the area between his wrist and elbow. I think he hit the sharp edge of the counter. He had just gotten up and gotten dressed and thinks he tripped. But he also said he felt light-headed. When I asked him later he was not sure what happened. Fortunately there wasn't much bleeding and Shirley and I were able to get gauze and bandages on. I was able to lift him on to his feet and after quick good-byes to Shirley and Jack, who plan to leave for home 6am tomorrow, I drove him to the correct emergency room (for his insurance) at Kaiser Richmond.

He is doing good and said he has a million stitches. We need to change the dressing every day and look for signs of infection.

After getting his other hearing aid from Costco at 4pm, Margaret and I had talked with Dad about staying with us, and he had agreed to leave with me tomorrow (Sunday) to try it out. We have a Kaiser hospital not far from us and planned to have him see a surgeon there to find out if he will need surgery on the cut on his right hand.

Howard Update 7/18

Kevin's email from Wednesday, July 18:

(Sorry for the length, but my future writing will be paid by the word.)

I drove to work yesterday (Tuesday) so I could get a simpler phone for my Dad, drive to his place to take him to dinner, setup the phone, and go to an urgent care clinic to have the cut on his right hand, on the palm, looked at.

I had no trouble getting the phone, I setup the phone while he started reading the user manual, then we went to dinner. I made sure to sit on his right side since we found out last Saturday that his left hearing aid wasn't working. We had a good dinner, and before we left I found a nearby urgent care clinic, and told him we could go there. He was agreeable, though he thought all that was needed was to put a new bandage on.

I thought we would be at the clinic for about 30 minutes, but it was shorter than that when they told us that hand injuries can involve ligaments and surgery, and suggested we go to the nearby emergency room (2 blocks away). That was convenient, so we went there without me thinking that his Kaiser Health Plan would consider it an out-of-network expense and charge him too much.

There weren't many people ahead of us (15, compared to 30 or 40 that Margaret and I have seen at our ER) but it took 2 hours (about 10:30pm) or a doctor to see us (triage was soon after we arrived). Shortly before that, Dad said we should leave, but I felt we had invested the time, and I wanted his hand examined since it was swollen and his friends who saw the wound said he should go to a doctor. A nurse removed the bandage, cleaned the wound, another nurse took him for an x-ray of his hand, the doctor put 3 stitches in, and another nurse bandaged it and gave him a wrist splint. He was given 2 prescriptions for antibiotics. We left around 1:30am. I had decided shortly before that that I was too tired to drive home, and would arrive so late that Margaret wouldn't get much sleep. So we went to Dad's and both slept.

I work from home on Wednesdays, so I sent a message to my manager and coworkers that I would be in late. I hoped that my Dad's friends, who had bandaged his hand, could also take him to get his prescriptions. But when he woke up Wednesday, Dad told me that his last working hearing aid wasn't, so I informed my work that I would take the day off.

I helped Dad try to clean the hearing aid, and after writing notes on paper, used my phone's speech to text feature, with a large font, to communicate with him. Then later found an Android app, Talk to Deaf Grandma (TDG) , that was easier to use. As the ER doctor requested, I called his doctor and made an appointment for Thursday morning.

He couldn't get the hearing aid to work. He asked if I was hungry, and suggested breakfast at McDonald's, but with TDG I suggested IHOP. We had a good breakfast with a waitress who recognized him from serving him years ago at another restaurant, then at IHOP. He suggested getting the prescriptions at Walgreens nearby, but after driving there, walking in with him, and waiting, they would not accept Kaiser cards. I TGDed that we'd go to Kaiser, so off we went.

Got the prescriptions, then he thought Kaiser might help with the hearing aids, but he led me to the eye glasses store. We found audiology, but they just did hearing tests. So off to Costco where he had bought the hearing aids.

They cleaned them while I did some shopping for Margaret (and some for me), but couldn't get the right ear one to work. Fortunately, it was under warranty, so they would send it off to be fixed, and call him in a few days. But finally he could hear me through his left ear!!

We headed to his place, and I asked him where he wanted to go to test GoGoGrandparent, a service I signed him up for, and put the number on his new phone, where you can use a non-smart phone to get a ride. He didn't suggest any place.

I gave him his prescriptions, and he had problems opening the bottles (he can't use his right hand much, especially with the splint). He's upset that he needs to take one prescription 4 times a day, but the other is just twice a day. He read all the instructions.

At home, I added the numbers for his friends to his phone, and asked him to try it out. He had lots of problems using it from thinking he could touch the screen, to typing the phone number for GoGoGrandparent (that's shown in the phone book) when he could have it dialed for him by pressing the YES button. We practiced several times, and I'm still not sure he can do it.

He also had problems hearing the recorded instructions from GoGoGrandparent, and hearing Margaret when I asked him to call her. But he just needs to press 1 to request pickup at home, then 2 to be picked up at the place he was dropped off. It's not essential that he see his doctor Thursday, but it will be a good test for him to use GoGoGrandparent. I hope after using it a few times he will be more comfortable with it. It could also be that he hears much better with his right ear, so having that hearing aid fixed will be a big improvement.

That's all for now. Will keep you posted.